Anguished Bodies
by Ventiusx
Summary: After fighting with Token, Craig begins getting strange texts from a unknown number about a virus. What he doesn't know is that this virus is very real and will soon take over his life.
1. Chapter 1

**I started this to try to get my brain working, since I have no direction for Off and no inspiration for it**  
 **I wanted to do something a bit more familiar to me, with plans for what will happen already in place. (Off is pretty much just whatever comes to mind while writing-)**  
 **This probably will NOT be a romance story. The characters will be much more focused on survival than making out.**

oxoxoxo

His voice had never sounded so cold. Every word stung like a shot in the heart, leaving Craig bleeding and hurting. The venomous words were purely intentional, and Craig knew that. Token knew that. It was known the moment the two began to bicker. It was known the moment Token saw Craig stealing from the Coffee Shop. Craig didn't say why. In fact, the teenage boy spoke not a single word that wasn't towards apologizing. It didn't matter, in the end. Token wasn't going to talk to him.

So Craig left, after the last words were exchanged. He didn't want to go home- he knew it was simply not a good idea. He never told his parents he left, and if he came in now he would certainly be shouted at, especially at this time of night. Not to mention, he wished to talk to a friend, and of course, his mind fell on the only person he could trust right now. Clyde Donovan.

Craig's cold hands found their way into his pockets, followed by a vulgar hiss about how he wished he had chosen to wear gloves. He could see his breathe in the cold, vicious air. The snow on the streets were piled on the sides, the height of each pile well over a foot tall. The night only intensified this freezing cold, making it hardly bearable. A few small tears slipped down his face, slightly freezing to the pale skin. The walk was excruciatingly painful for Craig, as he had nothing to distract him from his thoughts.

That is, until he makes it almost to his dear friend's house. His phone went off, and gives him a number unknown to Craig. The area code was of South park, 719. Craig gives a small grunt, before halting his walk to read it.

 **[The virus that reanimates will destroy the living. Prepare yourself before the fall of man]** Craig let out a snort after he read the message. He decided to humor whoever sent the message.

 **[virus?]** He simply sent, before he walked up the door and giving it a confident knock. He wiped away any tears, making it almost impossible to guess he was crying. Not that he was. Craig had shed only a few tears, which to him was not the definition of crying. Nope.

Clyde opened the door, giving a small innocent grin. The dork wrapped his arms around Craig, pressing his face into the crook of Craig's neck.

Clyde was always like that, touchy-feely, with little regard for personal space. Ever since the two of them were in preschool he acted like that. Perhaps how strange he was is why Craig grew so attached to the bubbly boy. It wasn't something he was usually drawn to- no, Craig prefered those who were more forceful, rude. But no, his best friend happened to be a little baby.

"Hi, Clyde." Craig grunted, forcefully removing the clingy boy off of himself.

"C'mon inside!" Clyde chirped at his friend, grabbing the boy's wrist and pulling him into the warmth. "Why'd you come over? I thought you said you were busy." Clyde gave a small hum, raising an eyebrow at the other boy.

"I, uh, can we talk about this in your room or something?" Craig responses, taking in the the familiar surroundings. This was practically like a second home to him. The air smelt of pancakes and sugar, which makes Craig feel warm inside. It helped him relax, especially in a time like this. The house had a lot of stuff filling it, but it wasn't overwhelming. It was cozy.

"Of course, buddy!" Clyde said, pulling on his friend's arm once more towards the stairs. It was strange how similar each house was. Many houses were made out of the same cookie-cutter. Even so, each was decorated to seem different, and while Clyde's house was almost identically made, it had a much different feel to it.

He pulled Craig into his room. It was messy, but not cluttered. Clothing was scattered here and there, though not to the point where it seems horrendously unclean. It was similar to any teenage boy's room, as none of the boys in his class had the patience to clean often.

"So dude, whats up?" Clyde asks, dropping to the floor at the foot of his bed.

"I, uh…" Craig paused, taking a deep breath. He knew this probably wasn't going to go well with Clyde. "I steal from shops. To make money for my dad. He's in the hospital. Token caught me taking from the Coffee shop."

"Craig!" Clyde yelled, smacking the top of his best friend's head. "Stealing? You could've asked for _help_ , you idiot!"

Craig's hand reached up to his head and rubbed the place Clyde hit him, "I'm not a charity case." he retaliated, punching Clyde on the shoulder playfully.

Clyde frowned, and shook his head slightly. He never really liked theft, "Don't do this again dude, I don't want you, like, going to jail."

Craig groaned, running a hand through his hair, "Dude, whatever. Can we just go to sleep or something, asshole?"

Clyde only nods in response, and Craig digs through the boy's closet for a second blanket. Clyde was a blanket whore. Once finding his favorite of Clyde's blankets, a Red Racer one from their childhood, Craig crawled over to his friends bed and laid down on it. The lights shut off, and Clyde turns on a movie for the two to watch.

It took a while for Craig to sleep, and he didn't let Clyde stay awake while he suffered insomnia. They both ended up sitting through two and a half movies before both were passed out.

* * *

The next day of school wasn't like any regular day of school for Craig. He made a conscious choice to avoid his friends, especially Token. For reason obvious.

It was strange braking his usual routine, it made him feel like something was wrong. Something was off about his day, and there was. He realized this from the moments he entered the school doors with Clyde, and left for his first class. He knew that now, sitting in the middle of his third period classroom.

Craig spent the majority of the day wondering about this. Would he ever be forgiven by his friends, primarily Token, for stealing? Would they call the cops on him? He couldn't help but feel extremely cautious. He prepared to lie to the cops. To the world.

[ **Yes, virus. It's already hither and yet payed no heed to. It's escalating and not a soul whispers a word about it.]** Craig looked up, looking for whoever could be sending the text. Nobody seemed to be messing with their phone. Of course, it was very possible for the texter not to be in his class, or even in the school. They were probably some messed up adult, and yet the boy was intrigued.

[when will we see it, though? Who are u?] He typed up, not looking down at his phone as he does so. He long since grew used to typing without looking. Once he finished typing, he looked back down at the phone, sending it. Then, Craig saves the number into his phone as 'Virus' for… future reference.

 **[I'm only another resident in this washed up town. In due time it will strike at it's worse, and it will be much too late for everyone.]**

 **[should i prepare, then? is that why u texted me?]**

 **[Perhaps. Or perhaps not, Craig.]** Craig let out a growl, how did this guy know his name. Why wouldn't he reveal himself? It bothered him immensely. His fingers curl into a fist and he digs his fingers into his palms.

The bell went off and Craig was quick to leap out of his seat and dash out the doors towards the doors. He long since decided to eat outside instead of in the cafeteria with everyone else. Kids weren't restricted to the cafeteria, but weren't allowed to leave campus grounds. Not that it would stop Craig, and Craig began his short walk to the park nearby.

Craig glanced to the side, and spotted something weird. He stopped in his tracks, staring at it with wide eyes. A man was limping down the streets, his entire body pale as ever. Though far away, Craig noticed bloody wound on the guys arm. The man turned to Craig, making eye contact, before continuing down the streets slowly.


	2. Chapter 2

The days seem to grow longer and longer for the teenager, watching as the people around him grow more and more distant. Craig was entirely preoccupied with the person who was texting him. Anxiety began to fill him, causing many sleepless nights in a dark, cold room. He was a wreck, and it didn't seem to be changing anytime soon.

Even then air around him seemed to be shifting, seeming much more thick in the mountain town. Less people bounded down the streets towards shops and what not. It wasn't like it was vacant in the little town, but people seemed hesitant to leave their house anymore. Craig was one of those people. He even went as far as to skip school today. He didn't want to leave his room for an instant more than needed.

Craig actually packed a bag full of food after being creeped out by the texter, who seems to be persistanting with its texting at a much rapid rate. It seemed silly, in a way, to be so nervous about nothing. Still- having all the food in his room was nice, so he didn't have to leave his room.

He spent most of his free time on his computer now, watching various youtube videos and talking to random people on forums. When Craig wasn't wasting his time on his laptop, the boy was playing his playstation 4. He had reverted to an angry neet. It was worrying for everyone who knew the boy.

Craig was playing through Bioshock Infinite for the third time, his hands wrapped around the controller lazily as he moved around the stage. He was extremely calm while playing this game, it never seemed the get a rise out of him. It was strangely therapeutic for the young boy, and helped him keep whatever was going on in this town out of his head.

A noise interrupted Craig' s gameplay, and this noise happened to be the loud 'ding' noise that went off when he got a text message. He paused the game, reaching over for the device which laid by his side the entire time. He assumed it would be the 'mystery texter' he's been engulfed with recently, and had just been texting anyways, but was extremely surprised by the name that had appeared on his screen. Clyde.

 **[Hey, bro, my mom's acting really strange is it cool if i crash over there for a bit?]**

 **[sure get your ass over here]**

 **[Cool, bro!]**

Craig didn't have time to return his gaze back to his game before he was attacked by yet another text message. This time it was, in fact, the strange unknown person who won't stop bothering him. Craig let out a sigh, before reading it silently.

 **[i need you to meet u p with me by the grocery st ore in a hour no l8 ]** There was a few things about this text that set Craig off. The usual text pattern of being vague as hell was dropped, and it seemed to be quite urgent. It seemed so rushed, and it gave Craig a slight uneasy feeling. Along with this, it kind of clashed with his just set plans.

Feeling as though missing the store meet-up wouldn't be beneficial to him, Craig dug through his dirty clothing that littered his floor looking for his wallet. Upon finding it, he glances inside to see his stolen treasures. $500 cash sat in there. He had a gut feeling that it would soon be useless, but still shoved the wallet into his front pocket.

Craig then got another text from his friend Clyde, and the boy gave an annoyed grunt before checking it, [I'm here!]

After pulling on a clean pair of pants and a shirt, Craig practically ran down the stairs and opened the door. Clyde was standing there, and was about to step inside the house when Craig pushed him back, closing the door.

"Keep your coat on. We're going out for coffee and then to the store." Craig mumbled, turning around and already heading down the road without confirmation from his best friend. If Clyde wanted to stay he'd come along, after all. Craig was more focused on getting to the store on time.

"You better not be paying with the money you stole." Clyde said, in a small whimper, turning around and skipping off after Craig.

"I'm not." a lie.

As they walk down the streets of South Park, they both get the feeling of it being a bit lost. It was like a ghost town, at this point neither of the boys saw a single person walking down the streets. Craig made the assumption that whatever sickness had wrecked the town was only getting worse.

"Isn't it weird how everyone is sticking to their houses?" Clyde asks, tugging at his collar. He tooked the words right out of Craig's mouth.

"I was thinking the same thing. Was school like this today?"

"School?" Clyde asks, before letting out a laugh "Craig, dude, the schools called every house and told the parents that due to facility not showing up we were off today." That explained why Craig didn't get in trouble by his parents for skipping, Craig supposed.

"I guess that makes sense." They made it to the coffee shop Craig had stolen from only a week ago. He placed a rough hand onto the door handle and pushed, to no avail. Craig looked up, and a big, red closed sign was practically looking back at him. Craig slammed his hand on the door, letting out a loud, annoying hiss at the building. He turned to Clyde, brow furrowed in anger.

"Closed, lame." Clyde whined, placing both hands onto the glass, peering in to see if he could find anything. Nothing alive was inside the store.

Craig frowned, "There's no point in molesting the window like that. C'mon, the grocery store has a starbucks inside."

"Ahh, but starbucks isn't as good as the Tweak stuff." Clyde whined even louder, earning a smack from Craig.

"Coffee is coffee, don't be a snob."

"Hey! Don't hit me!" Clyde whimpered, punching Craig in the arm back. This was always how they acted, committing acts of violence upon each other when they get frustrated. It wasn't to hurt anyone, but it was just how they responded to each other's company. It was like their own special language of punching and kicking.

"I'll hit you if I want, loser." Craig laughed, ruffling his friends hair with his large hands. They turned the corner, and the two now faced the grocery store. There were cars parked in the people were walking around near the store. It was the first time the two had seen any human life since they left Craig's house, and it was happily accepted by the two boys.

Standing by a pole with a rather large backpack was a petite little body. While the person was far away from the two friends, some things could be told from the figure. They had blond, messy hair. They seemed to be dressed for a blizzard (a common clothing decisions for people in this town), and they had a bow around him.

The figure must have noticed Craig too, because it began to run at him at a decent speed, especially knowing how much stuff appeared to be piled on the person's back. The closer they got, the more Craig seemed to recognize the person, until he could put a name to the face.

"Tweek Tweak?"

 **oxoxoxoxoxo**

 **sorry for the short chapter, I wanted to leave off with a bit of mystery!**

 **Reviews are appreciated ! (please review)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Really short chapter, just wanted to get a bit of Tweek's view in. Will get back to the present next chapter ahaha**

* * *

Tweek Tweak was ready when the crawlers first began to wander the streets, so little in number. His entire life he was paranoid about an apocalypse, among other things, so he commonly read nature books, he learned a bit of boxing, and he had his room organized in case of any sort of emergency. Perhaps, for once, his agonizing anxiety about what is to come saved him.

While Tweek never knew what kind of apocalypse was to come, generally the same basic things were needed. Food, water, a weapon, some sort of purifier, bandages. The usual stuff. His parents knew nothing of the extent of his hoarding problems, but he never cared. It was better, that way.

Tweek was certainly afraid when he saw his first crawler. He had no means of fighting it. It was Tuong Lu Kim, the owner of City Wok. No, he was no longer the same man he was. Now, he was simply a drooling, groaning monster who wouldn't hesitate to eat them all. Tweek barely made it out of the situation, and if it wasn't for the stick he picked up while backing up, he would've been eaten.

He was able to pick up a long, hard stick off of a lawn, and struck the man repeatedly with the side of the wooden object. The creature stumbled around, dark blood splattering the ground. It wouldn't die. Tweek struck once again, against the side of the monster's head. It fell over, but the stick broke. It wasn't down for good. The creature still moved.

Tweek grabbed the broken end, and while holding the longer piece in his left hand, held the creature down. He gripped the other side tightly in his palm. He hesitated. Was this the right thing to do? Was Tuong still alive in there? The creature reached forward, grabbing Tweek with it's decomposing hand, trying to pull Tweek's arm to his mouth.

This was the driving factor to Tweek shoving the sharp end of the weapon into the thing's head. He reached back, attempting to get the most momentum out of the attack.

The ground was soaked red, Tweek was soaked red. Admittedly, he was surprised he had the strength to get the stake into it. Perhaps it was from all that momentum. Perhaps his boxing training really did come through. Tweek was never the strongest teen in South Park, so he didn't expect such a good result. He looked at the monster, and noticed that the stake didn't go through the skull, but rather through its eye hole. A lucky break.

Tweek returned to the safety of his own home that day completely shaken. He stayed within the walls of his room the rest of the day, trembling in fear by his small television. It aired about the gruesome death of the City Wok owner. They didn't know the truth. Tweek saved them, he assumed. The monster was violent, someone could've died. They didn't know that though. They never air the truth.

The boy knew he was the only one who was aware of the situation at hand. The knowledge of that hurt him. He had to get it out, but who would listen. He was never the most attached to reality, and commonly would spout nonsensical things about the end of the world to whoever would listen. This time, it was true, and nobody would listen if they knew who it was.

So he resorted to the last thing he wanted to do.

It wasn't as if Tweek hated Craig. No, that wasn't it. In fact, the two were very close leading up to freshman year. So close that they dated. Twice. However, after they broke up the second time, they seemed to of drifted apart.

Tweek Tweak certainly looked over his options before he decided to stick with his ex boyfriend. He wasn't about to tell Stan's group about it, because there was no way in hell he wanted to spend his last days with Cartman. While someone like Wendy would be helpful for knowledge, she wasn't fond of Tweek, and honestly was not the strongest member of his senior class.

So the boy began to text Craig about the impending doom. He was sure to mask his writing so Craig didn't assume it was him. The chances of the other boy believing his case is low enough, and Tweek knew his identity wouldn't increase such a chance.

Tweek knew Craig didn't believe any of his texts. That's why they needed to meet in person…


End file.
